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British Naval Mine Found Off Coast Of Iceland

A British naval mine, believed to be from WW2, was found off the coast of east Iceland last Saturday.

Vísir reports that a helicopter of the Icelandic Coast Guard was deployed to Starmýrartangi, east Iceland, to recover the mine. Believed to date from World War 2, the naval mine contains approximately 225 kilos of TNT.

Sigurður Ásgrímsson, head of the Explosives Department at the Coast Guard, told reporters that they have often found mines near Starmýrartangi through the years.

“Sometimes a few come in a year, sometimes a year goes by without finding anything,” he told reporters. “Many years ago, I went to an area where five mines were recovered at the same time.”

In fact, these remnants from World War 2 are not at all unusual to find around Iceland. When they are spotted, the Icelandic Coast Guard is tasked with removing it to a safe location where it is detonated. Below, you can see a video of one such detonation, taken last year by the Icelandic Coast Guard:

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